Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Question 560: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will review the case of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath who has applied for asylum on humanitarian grounds. [4967/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, applications for refugee status in the State are determined by an independent process comprising the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, which make recommendations to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on whether such status should be granted.

The Deputy may wish to note that all applications are considered in accordance with the provisions of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended). Section 2 of the Act defines a refugee, subject to stated exclusions, "as a person who, owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his or her nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his or her former habitual residence, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it". Notwithstanding this, it is not the practice to comment in detail on individual asylum applications. A final decision on this application will be made when I receive the decision of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, which I am advised was made recently.